PENAL a.
ed as punishment; used as a means of punishment; as, a penal colony or settlement. "Adamantine chains and penal fire." Milton. Penal code (Law), a code of laws concerning crimes and offenses and their punishment. -- Penal laws, Penal statutes (Law), laws prohibited certain acts, and imposing penalties for committing t…
PEREGRINE a.
and swift falcon (Falco peregrinus), remarkable for its wide distribution over all the continents. The adult plumage is dark bluish ash on the back, nearly black on the head and cheeks, white beneath, barred with black below the throat. Called also peregrine hawk, duck hawk, game hawk, and great-footed hawk.…
PESO n.
A Spanish dollar; also, an Argentine, Chilian, Colombian, etc., coin, equal to from 75 cents to a dollar; also, a pound weight.
PHILISTINISM n.
The condition, character, aims, and habits of the class called Philistines. See Philistine, 3. [Recent] Carlyle. On the side of beauty and taste, vulgarity; on the side of morals and feeling, coarseness; on the side of mind and spirit, unintelligence, -- this is Philistinism. M. Arnold.